U.S. History
Pulitzer Biography Crashes Through
The Washington Post today carries a terrific review of the new biography of Joseph Pulitzer by my friend, James McGrath Morris, a/k/a Jamie. That it’s a great book should be clear from my own review of it, posted on Amazon: “Joseph Pulitzer’s story is a classic American rags-to-riches-to-sellout saga. A Jewish immigrant from Hungary, Pulitzer…
Read MoreJames Wilson's Draft
I have been tickled by the recent identification of records of James Wilson at the Historical Society of Pennsvlvania as an early draft of the Constitution prepared during the Constitutional Convention in the Summer of 1787. I think the find is slightly less electrifying than the initial ballyhoo suggests, but it’s still a great thing. …
Read MoreTreason, American Style
Nattering on about Aaron Burr’s 1807 treason trial this week, I was brought up short by a very simple question: How many treason trials have there been in the United States? I resolved to investigate the question, which yielded the following. The Framers of the Constitution mistrusted treason prosecutions, seeing them as an easily abused tool of political…
Read MoreThings Written Remain
A striking feature of Aaron Burr’s life is the paucity of written material he left behind. For a man who spent 20 years in public life during the nation’s founding, the material left is slim indeed. The Political Correspondence and Papers of Aaron Burr were published in 1983 and constitute only two volumes. By way of…
Read MoreAaron Burr and Goethe — 200 years ago
On January 4, 1810, Aaron Burr met with the poet Johan Goethe in Weimar, Germany. They were rough contemporaries: Goethe was 60; Burr 53. But they were at very different stages in their lives. Goethe was a literary giant in 1810, renowned for The Sorrows of Young Werther, and still producing great poetry as he…
Read MoreYou Never Know
So this reporter from the Washington Times — yes, the Moonie newspaper — makes a connection between the deals made for Senate votes on health care reform and those made for votes in the Andrew Johnson impeachment trial in 1868. And he cites my book, in an article on Christmas Eve. What a world!…
Read MoreBurr on James Monroe
Aaron Burr virtually never spoke ill of others. That trait may partly explain the deep anger that drove him to challenge Alexander Hamilton to their famous duel in 1804 after Hamilton had slandered him for more than a decade. Nevertheless, there was one notable exception to Burr’s practice: his explosive denunciation (in private correspondence with his son-in-law) of James Monroe,…
Read MoreBurr's Wisdom
In 1795, Burr advised his daughter Theodosia to retain her serenity at all costs. If only he had followed his own advice nine years later when he challenged Alexander Hamilton to a duel! Receive with calmness ever reproof, whether made kindly or unkindly, whether just or unjust. Consider within yourself whether there has been no cause…
Read MoreOn to Providence!
Beginning in early January, I will take up two months of residence (most weekdays) in Providence, Rhode Island, thanks to the Hodson Trust-John Carter Brown Library Fellowship. The fellowship is granted for those working on a book of American history before 1830 — my current project on the Aaron Burr Conspiracy, which is under contract to…
Read MoreAn Open, Serene, Intelligent Countenance
On January 4, 1799, Aaron Burr wrote to his daughter Theodosia, then 16, about the advantages of good presentation in the world: There is nothing more certain than that you may form what countenance you please. An open, serene, intelligent countenance, a little brightened by cheerfulness, not wrought into smiles or simpers, will presently…
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